This invention relates to electrical connectors, and more particularly to stress relief apparatus for electrical connectors at which a plurality of individual electrical conductors terminate.
Electrical connectors for mechanically and electrically interconnecting groups of individual electrical conductors are well known. These connectors takes many forms and have a wide variety of applications. In many of these applications it is sometimes necessary to disconnect the connectors for such purposes as maintenance and repair of the associated apparatus. When this is done, there is often a tendency for the person working on the apparatus to attempt to disconnect the connector by pulling on the wires leading to the connector. This tendency may be due to the relatively small size of many connectors, to their relative inaccessibility in the apparatus, or the like.
Strain on the connector wires can be detrimental to the connector. It can result in one or more wires being pulled from the connector. It can result in dislocation of one or more terminals in the connector. And it can result in damage to the connector housing. Any of these occurrences can in turn cause failure of one or more of the electrical connections provided by the connector. In complicated electrical equipment such failures can be extremely difficult to locate. The risk of such damage to the connector is increased if the male and female parts of the connector are latched together.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to provide apparatus for reducing the risk of damage to an electrical connector resulting from lateral movement of the individual wires terminating at the connector.
It is another object of this invention to provide stress relief apparatus for electrical connectors at which several individual wires terminate, the stress relief apparatus being simple and inexpensive to manufacture and install but extremely effective in preventing the wires from being pulled out of the connector.